Terminal Ileum Surgery Stress

[Porkpie84]

Hey Scorpionb! Welcome

Based on my experiences, here are some things I'd keep in mind:

Surgery will not cure Crohn's disease, and may not even provide long term relief. I had a few feet of terminal ileum + colon removed in February of 2009, and I am currently in the throes of another flare. Typically Crohn's will flare up again at the anastomosis (the juncture of the two pieces of bowel where they sew you up), and that's why surgery is typically only used as a last resort or to correct complications like fistulas and abscesses. Surgery may end up setting you on the path for more surgeries later.

One of the long lasting effects of surgery is that you may never be able to eat certain foods again. Because the surgery results in scarring at the anastomosis, that part of your bowel will be narrower than the rest and may increase your chances of having a bowel obstruction (similar to what a Crohn's stricture might do). After my resection, I was told never to eat highly fibrous foods like broccoli, celery, cauliflower, popcorn, etc because of the risk of creating a blockage. Also, your bowel habits will likely change (as you will have less bowel to move food through) - hence why some people develop chronic loose stools.

The length of time you require to recover will depend on the type of incision your surgeon can make to perform the surgery. My surgeons attempted to do my resection laproscopically (through five small incisions that do minimal damage to the overlaying muscle), but when they got in there they found that an abscess would require the more traditional 8-inch vertical gash. Because they cut through my abdominal wall, it hurt a great deal to walk upright for awhile post-surgery. I couldn't even wear pants with buttons on them because they hurt my incision! I'd say that I was back to walking normally after about 6-7 weeks. For the first 2-3 weeks after surgery, I just felt overwhelmingly tired. I developed anemia after my surgery and required a blood transfusion.

One thing I wish I had known about surgery was the potential for seemingly unrelated side effects like hair loss. I lost about 40% of my hair due to a condition called telogen effluvium, which occurs after highly stressful or traumatic events for the body (surgery, pregnancy, etc.). It grows back, though!

I know that this post sounds largely negative haha, but truly, my resection surgery saved my life. The surgeons pulled out an abscess the size of an orange from my belly, which could have caused major problems like sepsis/death if it had gotten into my blood stream through a Crohn's ulcer. It's important to get your flares under control but if the surgery is considered elective at this point, I'm not sure I would personally choose to do it. It's a big sacrifice in terms of time, money, and energy, but for some people it is VERY worth it.

-Cally

Hello Cally,

Im fairly newly diagnosed with Crohns disease. Had an emergency operation to remove an abscess from my terminal illeum this May. It was quite a shock as up until then I didnt even know I had the condition.I noticed a few similarities in this paragraph to my sitution so wanted to ask a few questions if thats ok

1) How long after your surgery did you notice your hair shedding increase? How many did you roughly lose a day? Its now nearly 3 months after my surgery and hair is shedding like crazy. When I wash or brush it a significant amount comes out. And when I gently manipulate it I bring a few strands away every time. Strands also just fall out when I sit there also. I havent noticed any bald spots but my hair doesn't feel as thick as it used to. I did notice a lot of hair around my bed after surgery but I never thought into it as I was worried about other things

2) Did you have low serum ferritin levels? Ive recently been told my levels are slightly under the norm and Ive been told to take ferrous fulmerate twice daily. How did you tackle your low iron if so? Any tips you could shareon vitamins etc?

3) How long did the shedding last after the onset?

4) How did you cope with the stress involved with losing hair? The past few months have been a complete downer as Ive still not back to work after getting a post surgical wound infection. Im finding hard to not stress about the increased hair loss but seeing hairs here there and everywhere just increase my anxiety! Did you worry lots too?

5) How long was it until you noticed your hair returning to its former glory?

Im really sorry for the long message. As you can tell im really worried at the moment. Hopefully your answers will help me with it.

Thanking you in advance for you help

Becky x

 

[David]

Hi Becky,

I noticed you posted the above in another thread. As that was a pretty old thread and I'm not sure those members visit the forum much anymore and I can tell you're worried I copied (your question in the other thread remains) what you wrote there to here in the hope that others might respond to you as well. I hope you don't mind, I just want you to get the support you deserve

 

[Amber82]

Hi becky, I'm a hair stylist and trust me after my surgery I was shedding a lot to, and some of the meds made my hair grow back corse in spots. All I could think was who is going to want a bald stylist to do their hair! I even started looking up wig companys just in case. But don't freak out yet, most people shed 150 to 200 hairs a day this is normal, as long as you arn't having chuncks of hair coming out in your hand, red, ichy scalp or bald spots you should be fine. The lady that works at my dr. office taking blood, told me she had lost all of her hair from stress like 5 yrs ago and I didn't belive her till she showed me a picture. She was bald! I asked her what she did and she told me that her dr. gave her cortazone shots in her scalp over a few weeks and it started growing back. She has a full thick head of hair now! I mean thick! So try not to worry to much, dr. can do so much now! and if you feel like its not stopping try going to a dermatologist. They see stuff like this all the time, thats what I always tell my clients when they have problems. I hope this helped, if you have any questions let me know. If I don't know the answer I will try to find it for you Good luck!

 

[Porkpie84]

Thank you for moving my message to its own thread David Much appreciated. Im quite new to the forum so im still getting to grips with the whole thing. Its a great community though and Im finding it to be a very useful resource for Crohn's related queries

Hi Amber,

Thank you so much for your kind post. It has helped put my mind at rest. I hope you dont mind but can I just ask a few more questions if thats ok. How long after the surgery did you notice the increased hair shedding? For me it has started around 2-3 months after the operation I think. When I researched the matter on the internet I found this to be consistent with post op hair shedding. How long did it last for you?

It seems vain to be so worried about my hair but when I see the amount that I shed I wonder how I have any hair left! hehe My bedroom laminate flooring looks like a wig! haha I totally understand why you started researching wigs and the whole thing can serve to make you paranoid. That story you told about that lady you met makes me realise that if the worse comes to worse then there is always a way to get back a thick head of hair. I think surgery is just a bit of a shock to the system isnt it. The operation I had was my first and I never realised what a stress the whole experience can place on your body. I really cant wait till I get back to good health and can get back to the gym

One last question - is this increased hairs shedding something you see a lot of your hair clients experience??

Hope you are well and thanks once again for your help

Becky x

 

[Amber82]

Hi Becky
Mine started to shed I think about a month in a half after, mabe two. But I think I worried more then most just because of my job, vain yes! haha! So I'm sure I added more stress to my self. Also I didn't do the 6weeks off that the doctors wanted me to. Just because I work for my self and any time I take off work I don't make money. I took only 4weeks, and no pain meds work on me so I had rashes and still had pain. (more stress) I make sure now to take my vitamins and drink lots of water, witch is very good for you hair. GNC has vitamins for hair, skin, and nails. I tell clients to try them. But always check with your doctor first, don't want to tell you it good and it mix with a med your on in a bad way.
Now with clients I see lots of people who come in and tell me "I think I'm loosing my hair" most of the time its when the weather changes. Now the shedding 150 to 200 hairs a day is normal but two to three time a year we have shedding periods where we loose more. Usually it only last 3 to 4 weeks. So if I don't see anything wrong with there scalp and the hair isn't damage then I explain all the stuff to them, tell them to watch it and see how long it last, and if they feel its been to long then call the derma doc. Only randomly do I see bad cases and they have usually already been to the doc.
I'm not one to force the expensive products, I belive if it ain't broke don't fix it! So as long as it has good ingredients and you feel your hair is healthy then stick with your hair products. If not try some new stuff, its always fun to play! Oh and silly fact but showers are better for your hair then baths, just because the water raining on your head stimulates blood flow in the scalp! Anyway I know I'm rambling, but if you need anything else just let me know. Think happy thought! And stress free days! Amber